Operation Little Silver

Operation Little Silver (5-12 June 2006) was a US Marine Corps military operation during the Iraq War that took place in the Anbar Governorate capital of Ramadi, a city overrun by Iraqi insurgents. The Marines suffered heavy losses in the operation, and the insurgents maintained their control over Ramadi.

History
The Anbar Governorate was a hotbed of the Iraqi insurgency against the United States, with most of its Sunni tribal sheikhs aligning with al-Qaeda in Iraq or other insurgent groups to force the Coalition forces out of their country. The capital of Ramadi served as a US Marine Corps headquarters in Iraq, but it was also one of the largest bases for the Iraqi insurgents. Engagements between the USMC and insurgents ramped up in early June 2006, leading to the local civilian population fleeing. Coalition forces were deployed to Ramadi to restore order in the area, and they launched "Operation Little Silver" - named for a New Jersey town (similar to Operation Asbury Park in Afghanistan) - to crush the insurgents.

On 7 June 2006, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike, and the Marines decided to launch a big counterattack against the insurgents while their morale was high after hearing of the major blow to AQI. The American forces fought the al-Qaeda militants in the streets of the city, and a major stronghold for the insurgents was a schoolhouse. They fired on American soldiers that attempted to secure the school, and the building was the site of several American casualties. The operation failed in its goal of destroying the insurgency in the city and preventing an insurgent raid, and the Americans withdrew.